Describe the brief from the client
In a saturated snack category obsessed with non-stop novelty (new flavours, new formats, new packaging, etc.), M&M’s is perceived as predicable and unexciting.

How do we prove that M&M’s is a snack that promises ‘Irresistible Fun’, beyond simply great taste?

Describe the challenges and key objectives
Chinese youths are a generation open to new ideas and who value diversity and individuality.

We need to communicate we are the chocolate snack that’s most salient to our audience – the one they can immediately identify and recognise.

In addition, they are a generation constantly addressed by advertising. A generation that is beginning to show signs of frustration with ‘generic’ and ‘indistinguishable’ visions of youth that constantly target them.

Everyone knows M&M’s is fun and is the perfect brand to add colour and happiness. We want to own fun.

Describe how you arrived at the final design

We want M&M’s to create conversation. To do this, we need to tell the M&M’s brand story in a way that resonates strongly with Chinese youth who watch lots of western TV, downloaded online. So we used old black and white stock images of boring characters like the Principal, Founder and Chairman. Then we used M&M’s to draw on them, transforming them into funny characters. As a result, these eye-catching posters look like they were vandalised.

Give some indication of how successful the outcome was in the market
• 30% increase in sales in the first month

• 150% increase in brand awareness

• 80 mentions in magazines and more shared over social networking sites